Lavender Time
by CaRaDeE
Summary: Goten finds himself in Mirai's timeline, and things aren't well. Will the young saiyan find his way home, can he help Mirai Trunks save his world, and why is he so attracted to Mirai when he is dating Trunks? Goten/Mirai
1. Chapter 1

Lavender Time

Lavender Time

**Part One**

They were seven and eight again. On another adventure sneaking into Bulma's lab, where Trunks would show him their newest inventions.

Goten, who wasn't literally seven, but seventeen, peered cautiously into the huge lab of capsule corp. productions. His best friend, Trunks, now eighteen, was already at a table picking up and handling an invention that looked like a colorful gun.

Son Goten closed the large security door behind him, and walked over to where Trunks stood.

"Check it out," Trunks cooed to him, "Its something mom has been working on for a while now."

The older boy gently placed the gun into Goten's eager hands. The boy's large black eyes stared at the invention with awe, "What is it?" he asked.

Trunks shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know, all she says is that its something she's been wanting to do for a while now."

Goten pursed his lips, examining the item intently, as if he could determine its propose by starring at it. The feeling of two strong arms wrapped around his slender hips jerked Goten back to where he was. He turned his head to see Trunks' head resting on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck gently. "Trunks," Goten breathed, unsure of what to do.

A smug smile found its way on Trunks lips, "What's wrong. We're alone." The older boy purred.

"Yeah but, not here." Goten said.

He felt a sloppy kiss being placed at the base of his neck, and Goten's knees buckled. Then as quickly as they came the arms and Trunks' mouth were gone. The Lavender haired boy had turned away and was starting towards another table. "Fine Fine," Trunks called, sounding a bit put off, "What ever you want."

Goten heaved a sigh of relief at this. It was all new to him. His relationship with Trunks. They'd only started being a couple for two months, granted neither their parents knew. However, Goten was sure Gohan suspected something, only because Gohan was very insightful about everything. And he was _sure_ Piccolo knew, but only because the namek was more insightful then Gohan.

However, being with each other seemed like a good idea at the time. Goten knew he had feelings for Trunks that was more then "just friends," and Trunks felt the same way. But Goten also knew Trunks' reputation with women (not that Goten didn't have a small one for himself also.) Trunks was defiantly more experienced when it came to sex then Goten, and the younger boy found himself tensing whenever they brushed hands.

"Goten come look at this." Trunks said, as he bent over a gadget on the nearby table.

_I'm such a baby, _Goten told himself, _If I like Trunks, I should be able to show him that. _

"Goten?"

_I'm going to do it. I'm going to stop being so skittish. Its only Trunks, and he wants to too. I'm just going to march over to him and…_

"Goten? Come on buddy."

Without realizing it, Goten's grip had tightened on Bulma's newest invention. His thumb moved to the side ever so slightly, and as Goten turned to face Trunks, his thumb brushed against a button,

And he disappeared.

--

Trunks' jaw dropped in horror as he watched his best friend disappear before his very eyes. He blinked rapidly, again and again, as he tried to convince himself that Goten was still standing before him.

"Goten?" Trunks' voice called out.

No reply.

"GOTEN!"

The young saiyan was at such of a lost of what to do, he didn't even realize when the invention that Goten had been holding fell to the ground with no one there to hold it up, and broke into a million pieces.

--

Goten blinked, and in a flash he went from standing in Bulma's work lab to standing in a collection of rubble. Where a building might have once stood. Goten worked his mouth, but couldn't find any words.

Where was he?

He looked around but nothing looked familiar. "Hello?" he called, "Trunks?" He waited for a moment, but no one replied to his call. "Okay Goten, don't freak out," he found himself saying, "Just figure out where you are."

Jet black eyes absorded their surrounding, and to Goten's disappointment, nothing looked familiar. He was surrounded by rocks and what might have once been buildings.

_Maybe I can locate Trunks' Ki, he might be here too. _

Goten took a deep breath, and started searching for the familiar ki that belonged to his best friend. It took a moment longer then Goten had thought, but he found who seemed to be Trunks. Goten felt himself relax slightly, but his muscles were still tense, there was something different about Trunks' ki. It was stronger then it had been last time, much stronger. Goten felt it, and the bond Goten had once felt with Trunks' ki was no longer there.

Goten shook his head at this nagging thought, and took to the sky, _I'll find Trunks first and worry about it later. _

As he flew over this new world, his heart began to sink. He must have flown over dozens of places that once inhabited life, but now all that remained was debris and rubble. A chill ran down Goten's spine, and he picked up speed. This strange place was creepy. He wanted to get to Trunks as soon as possible.

He was flying over another abandoned city of rock, almost to the source where he felt Trunks' ki, when scream echoed out. Goten stopped immediately, unsure if what he heard was real or not, when a second scream followed it. His heart raced in his chest, and he stared at the town below him, torn.

He was so close to Trunks, but… whoever was still alive down below needed help.

Goten flashed a longing look in the direction of Trunks' Ki, as the obvious solution came to mind. He would have to go down and help. _Trunks will be there when I get back, _Goten reassured himself, and with that thought in mind, he descended to the earth.

--

She screamed as the torched body of her husband was thrown in front of her. The creatures that were the cause of his death snickered at her horror. One creature stepped forward threatening, and the woman spun on her heel and started to run, but her legs failed her, and she fell, face first into the mud instead.

She could hear their footsteps as they approached, and reality wrapped its cold fingers around her heart. She was going to die.

With a soft whimpering noise, she clutched her eyes shut, hoping they would finish her off quickly and put her out of her misery. A familiar clicking noise was heard. They were loading their guns, the end was in sight. Another whimper escaped her lips, and tears started flowing down her cheeks as she prepared for the blinding light that would end her life.

But the light never came.

Instead she heard a surprised yelp come from one of the creatures, and she opened her eyes to see that the alien that had been approaching her had dropped his gun and was back peddling from a man who was suddenly standing protectively in front of her.

Goten's eyes narrowed at the three aliens in front of him. They were a species he had never seen before, looking like human, but their skin was white as snow. Their ears were pointed, and hair outrageous colors like blue or green. The aliens were staring at him in surprise, they seemed to shocked that he had just fallen out of the sky and broken one of they're men's arm. The dark haired saiyan glanced back, and saw the woman he had just saved.

She looked very banged up, and was shaking uncontrollably. The look of shock and disbelief was etched deep into her features.

"Ma'am," Goten said over his shoulder, "Can you get away?"

It took the woman a few moments to process that he was talking to her, but she nodded numbly, "My… My jet is a few blocks away."

Goten nodded, "Then head over there quick, I'll handle these guys."

Slowly, the woman picked herself up. She hugged her arms tight around herself, "Thank you." She whispered.

Goten felt a burst of pride in his chest, but his face didn't show it. "No problem." He answered, and watched as she trotted off.

"Hey," one of the aliens in front of him snapped, "The female is getting away."

Goten turned to them, his face set in a cold glare, "If you want to try to catch her you're going to have to go threw me."

The aliens looked at each other, their faces showed uncertainty for a moment, before they all grinned. "Okay," One snickered, before he disappeared.

Goten's body tensed, and suddenly the same alien was standing in front of his and throwing his leg at the saiyan's lower stomach. Goten's arms moved without thinking to protect himself. Suddenly a second alien appeared behind him and threw a punch, Goten threw his body to the left and managed to avoid it. A third creature appeared at his side, and pointed his weapon at Goten, "Die," the alien smirked, firing.

Goten jumped up into the air swiftly, and watched at the blast missed him. _This is too easy_, the saiyan thought excitedly, his adrenaline and saiyan instincts kicking in from the fighting. _But its time to end this. _

He extended his hand out, and felt the engery rush into it before a Ki blast exploded towards one the aliens. The creature disintegrated with a scream of agony. Its companions looked at each other with wide eyes, "Now for you two." Goten said moving his hand to face the remaining creatures. Each shrieked and turned to run away, but just as Goten felt the energy flow into his hand again, a powerful Ki blast hit his back.

Goten's vision flashed white for a moment, a loud grunt escaped his lips as he fell to the ground, and made a small crater. His eyes blinked rapidly, as he tired to figure out what had happened. His back felt like it was on fire, but his mind blocked most of the pain out. All he could think about was that he had another opponent, a stronger one.

When he looked up, he could see the silhouette of his attacker, standing at the edge of the crater he had made. The man was a bigger, buffer version of his little henchmen. He wore a skin tight battle suit, and his hair was cut in a brisk Mohawk. He wore a smile of satisfaction as he stared down at Goten. "Well, I haven't seen you around these parts. Where did you come from? Under a rock?" He cooed.

Goten gritted his teeth, and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Who are you?" he asked.

The man's face fell in shock, before he burst into laughter, "Well, you really must have crawled out from under a rock if you don't know who I am." He stifled his laughter, and turned to Goten with intense green eyes, "I am Jaden, second in command to the Elysian people."

Jaden raised his power up, and Goten felt it press threateningly on top of him. Jaden had the power of at least a second level super saiyan, maybe even a third level. Goten gulped, he would have to be smart with this guy.

"And you are a saiyan," Jaden said more as a statement then a question. Goten stared at the alien, not answering, but Jaden continued on, "I can tell by how you look. The messy hair, black eyes, the way you're built… mmm, but your only half." Goten scowled at how Jaden had said this. As if he was a experiment gone wrong.

"And what are the elysian people doing on earth?" Goten asked.

This seemed to amused Jaden even more. The smile on the alien's lips broadened, "You don't know? what a interesting fellow." He mused, "and I don't even know your name."

Goten locked his jaw. _Like hell I'm going to tell you. _

Jaden waited a moment, giving Goten the time to respond, but once he saw he wouldn't, the man sighed heavily. "Not going to cooperate? That's a shame." Jaden raised his hand, and pointed it at Goten, "Good bye Saiyan." He said, and a large blue blast started in Goten's direction.

Goten gawked for a second, before quickly throwing his hands in front of him, and powering up to super saiyan two, in hopes the power would be enough to block the blast, or at least keep him alive.

The blast hit, and Goten screamed as he felt his hands burn. Agony raced to his mind, and a scream tore from his throat as he tried to power up even more. Slowly the burning sensation began to spread to his entire body, and eventually Goten's arms went limp at his side. His mind dizzy from the pain, Goten felt his body fall back, and hit the ground with a thud thump. His eyes stared blankly up at the dark sky, and his mouth felt like someone poured sand into it.

Was this death?

He tired to blink, but he found he couldn't even do that. He had so many questions, who was that Jaden guy and the Elysians? Was this earth? Where was Trunks?

At the thought of his boyfriend, Goten felt a heavy tug on his heart that made him want to cry out, if he had the strength.

A dark figure stood over him again. Goten saw Jaden's curel smile on the figure, and he realized what was about to happen. "Still alive?" came Jaden's voice, "I'll fix that."

Goten's head rolled to the side in defeat, this was it.

Jaden chuckled over him, and pointed his hand at Goten's chest. The young saiyan was just bearly hanging on the consciousness. As the Elysian prepared for the final blast, he saw something heading towards him out of the corner of his eyes. Jaden looked over, and was shocked when a power yellow ki blast knocked into his chest. Throwing the alien off balance, and into the rubble.

The Elysian sputtered for a second, confused at what had just happened, before the smoke cleared and he saw a familiar figure standing over the nearly dead saiyan. Jaden's eyes narrowed in hate, "You." He spat.

"Me." The man replied.

Goten's heart thupped when he realized there was a second person there, and he was standing right over him. Was this a enemy? A friend? He tried to lift his head to look, but he had no energy left at all. His body was dead weight, and a nagging blackness was taking over his vision.

But Goten did see something out of the corner of his eyes, and he wasn't sure if what he saw was because he was hallucinating, or if it was real. But his savior had long purple hair.

The same shade lavender as Trunks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Sorry this is taken so long to post. This chapter has actually been written for a while, and posted on Livejournal. But not here. Once again, really sorry about this guys. Enjoy! And Please Review, comments and reviews are always appreciated.

Lavender Time

**Part Two**

He felt himself come back to the real world soon enough. However, he had no idea how long he had been out for. He was laying on something cold, and hard. A moan escaped his lips, as his mind slowly began to wake up. He remembered being in Capsule Corp with Trunks, then somewhere completely different, running into Jaden, feeling so close to death, and…

_Trunks!_

A startled cry tore from his throat, and his eyes snapped open. A bright light welcomed him into a unknown room, and he feared the worst. Had the Elyssians beaten Trunks? Was he in enemy territory?

He grunted and tired to turn on his side, to escape the bright light that hung over head, and to get a better look at his surrounding.

At the sound of his movements, a voice peeped up from his side, "Oh, you're awake."

Goten paused as he registered the voice. It wasn't the unfamiliar, cold voice of the enemy. It was a voice Goten could recognize anywhere.

Small hands were suddenly pushing down on his shoulders. Pushing him back into a laying position, and a figure leaned over him, blocking out the light, and becoming a shadowed silhouette. But even shadowed Goten knew who was leaning over him. "Bulma?"

The figure pulled back, and the light dimmed out so Goten could see her better. Bulma's blue haired looking longer then the last time Goten had seen her. It was pulled into a lose ponytail. Her eyes and face looked tired, and worn, as if she was ten years older. "How do you know who I am?" Bulma asked, even her voice sounded older.

Goten pushed himself up into a sitting position and this time Bulma did not push him back down. "Bulma," he said, "Its me. Goten."

Bulma arched a eye brow at him, and her lips turned down into a scowl, "Is this some kind of joke?" she questioned.

Goten stared at her in confusion, before the sound of the door opening echoed in the room. "Mom," came a new voice, "Is everything alright."

"Trunks," both Goten and Bulma said in unison.

Bulma's head snapped to Goten, and Trunks raised his eye brows at the younger saiyan. His blue eyes staring at Goten as if they've seen him for the first time… ever.

At this realization Goten's heart gave a heavy tug. He quickly shrugged the feeling away, and stared back at Trunks. That's when he noticed it.

That the man standing in front of him wasn't Trunks.

Well it was Trunks, but at the same time it wasn't.

This Trunks' hair was longer then usual. His eyes, like Bulma's, were worn, and his face was more mature. No longer young, and pretty. Now he was older, and handsome. His body was also more built, and the tight black work out shirt he was wearing showed the new muscle mass.

Goten felt his jaw slacken, and maybe he started to drool, but he quickly clenched it shut. _How LONG was I out for? _His mind screamed.

"How do you know my son?" Bulma asked, once again leaning close to Goten. Her eyes full of suspicion.

Goten lowered his eyes, studying the metal table he was sitting on, instead of looking at the two people in the room as he answered, "I…well, I know _a_ Trunks Brief but…" He lifted his eyes to the man standing by the door, "you're not him."

"_A_ Trunks?" Bulma asked, still sounding confused.

"I see," The older looking Trunks said after a long moment of silence. He started forward until he was standing besides the table Goten sat on. "The Trunks you know… how old is he?"

"How old?" Goten repeated confused, "He's 18, just one year older then me."

Trunks' eyes softened and a soft gasp came from Bulma. A hand fell on Goten's shoulder, causing Goten to look up into the older Trunks' dashing blue eyes. He felt his heart jump at the sight of them. Eyes so familiar yet so different.

"What was your name again?" The Trunks asked.

Even though he knew this was a different Trunks, the fact that the man had asked the question hurt. Goten quickly shoved this pain away, he would deal with it later, and answered, "Goten."

"Well Goten, I don't know how to tell you this but it appears you are no longer in your timeline. You are in the future, and I am Mirai Trunks" Trunks stated, watching as Goten's eyes widened to the news, and a very Trunks like grin came across the older man's face.

---

Mirai Trunks? _The _Mirai Trunks?

The same man Gohan told him stories about when he was seven. The man who came from the future, and saved his father's life, saved _everyone's_ life. And in some strange way, gave him life.

_That_ Mirai?

Bulma… Mirai Bulma, who was still by Goten's side, sputtered in disbelief. "This young man is from the past?" She questioned, now turning to look at Goten as if he were a strange alien.

Mirai Trunks nodded, "17 years, its been 17 years since I last visited the past."

Goten opened his mouth to ask Mirai Trunks about his last visit, but Bulma's small hands grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face her, "Goten was it?" She asked, her eyes a lit with fascination, "Who are your parents?"

Goten paused at this question, "Um, Goku and Chichi."

A muffled cry escaped Bulma's lips, and Goten suddenly found himself bought into a tight hug. "Your Goku's son." Bulma whimpered, "He and Chichi have another little boy. You're Gohan's brother."

"Mother…" came Mirai's unsure voice.

Bulma pulled back, and looked at Goten. The young Son could see her eyes were rimmed with tears, "And you and my son? Are you and my son good friends?" she asked.

_You have no idea… _

Goten's heart gave another pathetic thump against his chest. "Yeah," Goten answered, "Best friends."

Bulma nodded approvingly at this, still looking at if she were on the verge of tears, she let go of Goten. The room stayed in an awkward silence for what seemed like hours to Goten, before Mirai spoke up.

"How did you get here Goten?"

"I…Trunks and I were in Capsule Corp looking at Bulma's new invention. I picked one up, must have accidently pushed a button, and now I'm here." Goten explained, thinking back on the events that lead up to his appearance in the future.

He had no idea Bulma had even been thinking about the idea of time travel. Did anyone else know? Did Trunks know?

Trunks…

_He must be worried about me… _Goten realized, thinking about how everyone must be reacting to his sudden disappearance.

As if he read Goten's mind Mirai spoke up, "Well we need to get you back to your own Timeline."

Both Goten and Bulma looked at the lavender haired man in surprise. "W-Wait a minute." Goten stated, "I answered your questions now answer mine. Who were those aliens? I thought you defeated the androids in this timeline. That's what Gohan told me."

Mirai looked thoughtful for a moment, before answering, "I did. The Elyssian's invaded three years ago."

"What do they want?" Goten asked.

"What many alien races want, to sell this planet for money." Trunks answered gruffly, "I've been holding them off on my own for the past three years. Many of them aren't very strong, but they have powers in numbers, and their Captains put up quiet a fight."

"Captains?" Goten questioned again, taking all this information in.

"There are three of them, Jaden is one." Mirai explained.

"There is only so much just one Super Saiyan can do." Bulma continued, taking a seat in a chair, and rolling towards the near by computer, "We're lucky we've survived as long as we have. It's the androids all over again, almost 70 percent of earth has been whipped out." She said sullenly, "If everyone was still alive, these Elyssians wouldn't be a problem." The screen to the computer came to life, and Bulma began to type away at something.

Goten was quiet for a moment, taking all this in.

The future was such a sad place, everyone was dead. Vegeta, Piccolo, his father and brother… and even after the death of the androids, still evil threatened the peace that both Mirai Trunks and Bulma deserved so badly.

How could Goten go home, back to his peaceful life in his timeline, when this destruction was going on?

"Mirai," Goten found himself speaking up, the older man looked at him, and Goten raised his head so electric blue eyes met determined black ones, "Let me help you."

"What?" Mirai asked confused.

"There's only so much one super saiyan can do…" Goten quoted, "But if I helped you, I'm sure we can beat them. Two super saiyans are better then one. Let me do that before I leave."

Mirai shook his head vigorously, "No. Absolutely not. What would happen if you died in this timeline Goten. You would never go back to your family. They will forever wonder what happened to you. No, you will go back as soon as possible."

Goten glared at Mirai determinedly, and opened his mouth to object, before Bulma turned from the computer, "Um, maybe Goten should stay and help out for a bit."

"What?" Trunks exclaimed staring at his mother in disbelief while Goten turned to her with a wide smile, "Mother are you crazy?"

Bulma frowned at her son, "Now Trunks, I know the idea does not sound practical, but I am still your mother. I don't want Goten getting involved with this as much as you do, but it doesn't look like we have a choice. A time machine will take at least six months for me to make. Five if I work diligently. I'm going to have to start from scratch again, since we destroyed the first one." Mirai lowered his eyes as he considered all this, and Bulma turned her own beautiful blue eyes on Goten expectantly, "And if Goten here is anything like his father and brother, he will not just sit down and wait for five months. Am I right?" She threw in a wink, and Goten beamed at her.

"I'll get started with the preparations right away," Bulma continued, "In the mean time Trunks, show Goten to a spare room."

Mirai huffed in defeat. When his mother decieded on something there was no changing her mind. He turned to Goten and nodded his head to the door, "Come on Goten."

---

"…And this will be your room." Mirai said opening a door that lead into a small dark room. Goten's eyes swept over the dark forms in the room trying to make out what things were, before Mirai flipped on a near by light switch and the room was bathed in atefical light.

There was a small bed, a even smaller desk. Piles of books was stacked in various places through out the room, and Goten could see there was another door in the far corner of the room, probably leading to a bathroom.

"Its nothing special." Mirai continued, as they stepped in, "This room use to be mom's old study, but it was too small so we moved everything into the room you woke up in."

"This is fine," Goten replied, walking over to the bed, and laying down on it, a loud relaxing sigh came out of his lips. Mirai watched the younger man for a moment, before turning to leave.

"Mirai," came the young saiyan's voice, stopping Mirai in his tracks. The lavender haired man turned and saw Goten was propped up on his elbows, a shy smile on his face as he said, "I… just wanted to thank you. For saving me."

Mirai returned the smile, "No need to thank me Goten." he paused before continuing, "We'll get you home."

Goten nodded, "And I'll help you fight the Elyssians."

The smile that graced Mirai's lips was a sad one, but he nodded, then turned and left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Lavender Time

**Chapter Three**

When Goten first woke up he didn't know where he was. He wasn't sleeping on the soft futon in his room, nor was it Trunks' large king sized mattress. He blinked blearily at his surroundings, taking in the empty spot beside him, and the dirty boxes tucked into the corner of the room. The strange surroundings caused his heart leapt into his throat and his body to shoot up, fully alert. Large black eyes took in the room again, his mind reeling. Images from the other day came back to him slowly, with a haze that made the memories almost dream like.

Running into the Elssyian soldiers, waking up in the future Capsule Corp, meeting future Trunks and Bulma. He was sleeping in one of their small guest rooms.

He was stuck in the future for at least five months.

With a heavy sigh Goten allowed his body give out, and he fell back onto the mattress with a soft thump. He thought about his mother, how she must be tearing her hair out in worry. He wondered how Trunks was reacting to him being gone for so long. How would everyone react when he returned in months?

_There's nothing I can do, _he reminded himself, rubbing his cheek against the rough pillow. The only thing there was to do was to make the best of the situation. Closing his eyes tightly, the young saiyan tried to push all thoughts of his own world aside.

A low rumble from his stomach filled the room, causing Goten to consider when his last meal had been. The answer was that he couldn't remember. His stomach let out another unhappy noise, and Goten whined with it. He needed food, he just hoped he would be able to find the kitchen in this new capsule corp.

He lucked out. As Goten quietly closed his bedroom door behind him the smell of toast and eggs wafted through the hallways. The young saiyan nearly collapsed in happiness as the smell of food hit him. His nose directed him through the building. As he neared the kitchen the soft clatter of dishes could be heard, along with low voices talking. The next turn he took led him directly into a dimly lit kitchen. A small plastic table where a platter of toast and eggs sat was in the middle of the room, and Mirai Trunks sitting in a cheap plastic chair. Bulma stood by the counter, humming softly as she washed something under warm water.

As he stood in the doorway taking in everything Mirai's eyes caught sight of him and the older man gave a friendly wave. "Morning."

Bulma turned at the greeting and flashed a friendly smile, "Morning Goten. Help yourself to the food. Sorry if it isn't the greatest, its all I can do in these conditions."

"It smells fine." Goten beamed, stalking over to the open chair besides Trunks and grabbing a plate. He went to work scooping up eggs and piling pieces of toast onto his the platter. Bulma laughed from her place by the sink.

"I thought some breakfast would wake you up. This trick works on all saiyan men I've found."

"Mother..." Trunks breathed, a soft blush tinting his cheeks as he turned his attention to his food.

Goten smiled at no one in particular, as he happily chewed on a piece of toast.

"So what are you boys going to do today?" Bulma asked, skillfully switching the subject. She dried her hands on her old stripped apron. Her blues eyes looked at the two saiyans sitting at the table with quiet interest.

Goten's chewing slowed and his face dropped. The question was a simple reminder of the world he had dropped into. Mirai pushed himself away from the table, obviously finished with his meal. Goten's black eyes watched his the older saiyan licked his lips and whipped his face. The expression Mirai wore was surreal to see. His ice blue eyes were narrowed in intense concentration that he'd never seen before. "I've been thinking about everything and Goten…" blue eyes came up to meet coal black, "are you still willing to help?"

"Of course," Goten replied automatically, his body buzzing with so much energy it nearly made him dizzy. Danger and death filled the air of the future world, and his saiyan instincts were definitely reacting to it. Just the mention of fighting gave Goten a rush he hadn't felt since Maijin Buu.

"I'm going to help if you want me to or not." He stated, hoping the sincerity in his voice reached Mirai.

A small smile broke out on the older man's face as he nodded, and from the other side of the room Goten heard Bulma's voice whisper, "That's Goku's son alright." He felt his body react to the remark, but managed not to show his discomfort on his face. He wanted Mirai to see him as the man who was willing to help because he was willing and able, not because of the ties he had to his father.  
"Good, then today we'll have our first spar."

xxxxxxx

The area Trunks picked to spar was a barren wasteland. Large red platues speckled the area, giving the land more dynamics. Goten landed on one of the rocks and Trunks landed on one opposite of him. The wind whipped at both their hair, throwing Trunnks' long lavender locks back and forth without a care. "Alright Goten, does this look good? This place doesn't have much animals and no people live nearby."

"Its great." Goten agreed, giving the area another look.

"Good, I don't want you holding back. Give me everything you've got." the smile that tugged at Trunks' lips was one Goten had seen nearly a hundred times. He was excited for battle, cocky even. "You seemed powerful against the foot soldiers, but you definitely need some polishing."

"Polishing huh?" Goten cocked his head to the side but his lips tugged into a excited smile. His body slipped into a easy fighting stance, as his eyes narrowed on the man in front of him. "All right, but remember you asked for it."

His energy sparked at his finger tips and feet. The rock Goten stood on groaned as his power climbed to its peak. With a loud cry Goten charged, his hand came up to throw the first punch. Trunks easily blocked the blow, then raised his knee to block another. The lavender haired man's smile broke into a out right grin, identical to the look on Goten's own face.

"Try this." The black haired teen hissed, feeling the energy collect at his finger tips. Before the ki ball grew to dangerous, he threw it towards Trunks' left leg. The half saiyan dodged to the right, where Goten suddenly appeared, his next attack ready.

Gohan's youngest brother threw his knee, and landed a blow against his opponent's ribs. A chocked sound escaped Mirai as the attack pushed him back. Goten didn't leave time to recover as the young half saiyan threw another punch and another after that. Both made rough contact against Mirai's skin, but the older man held his guard up.

Pulling back, Goten could feel his lungs gasping for air. A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek as he watched Mirai carefully. The purple haired man wasn't breathing nearly as hard, and once Mirai lowered his defense Goten could see the sleek smile that graced his features. "Not bad Goten. You might want to try a little harder though."

Black eyes narrowed at the taunt, and Goten obediently powered up before attacking again. He threw a rapid succession of punches and kicks, all either block or avoided by Mirai. None of the blows landed on the man's vital parts Goten noticed, and he own movements were quickly slowing down. He threw another desperate punch, this time however, instead of dodging Mirai easily snaked his own arm under Goten's. Effectively trapping the limb. Goten sucked in a sharp breathe of air as his situation dawned on him, and Mirai smiled.

In a quick motion, Mirai twisted the arm, moving Goten's body in front of his own. The younger man growled in the back of his throat while Mirai's soft chuckle filled his ears. The younger man desperately tried to get out of the grip to no avail.

"Okay okay I yield. Let go Trunks." he yelped. The words spilled out of his mouth before he knew what he was doing. so many times in the past Trunks had bested him in a sparring match, but this wasn't Trunks. Not his Trunks anyway. This was Mirai. A different man, yet so similar in many ways.

The grip loosened enough for Goten to get free. His mix up seemed to go unnoticed to the other saiyan as Mirai tilted his head at Goten's direction. "The Elyssians aren't going to be as forgiving as me you know."

"I know," Goten snapped, hardly able to keep the annoyance out of his voice, "I've been in a real fight before."

Mirai had no response to the sudden comment. His quietness caused Goten to feel ashamed at his behavior, his face heated and he averted his eyes. _So childish,_ he chided himself,_ I can't believe I snapped about something so stupid_.

A hand suddenly landed on his head, jerking the teen out of his thoughts. Fingers could be felt ruffling his dark locks gently while Mirai sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you Goten." then softer, "You're so different from Gohan."

Eyes till down cast, Goten ignored the last words. "No I'm sorry. You'd think I'd be used to you beating my ass."

Mirai laughed, "I have been doing this a long time. Even longer then your Trunks."

The words caught Goten slightly off guard, although they were true he was finding it difficult to decipher the future Trunks from the one in his own timeline.

Swallowing his shame, Goten couldn't think of anything to say in response. Mirai was quiet as well, his hand still laying on top of his head in a fond gesture. Eventually though, the older man put them both out of their misery, "How about we head home. I bet you're starved."

The mention of food made Goten brighten, "I could go for a hamburger."

The soft unoffensive chuckle came again, "You really are just like Goku."

Those words- _Those words_-were the only ones he thought he would never hear coming from Trunks, and even though Goten knew Mirai wasn't comparable to his Trunks they still stung. He managed to bite his lip in time, and shake off his irritation. A smile was forced into place before Mirai could notice any reaction from his words.

He changed the subject, from his father to a topic closer to home. "Mirai?" he started, breathing still uneven from the earlier exercise. The older boy paused in his cool down stretching to look at him. Elegant lavender eye brows raised in interest.

Goten swallowed, the words dying to come out yet he was fearful of the answer. He knew the future was a unpleasant place, where all the friends and family he knew in his time were long dead. But still, "I was wondering... if you knew anything about my mother."

Mirai seemed generally surprised by the question, "Chichi?"

Goten could only nod. He couldn't ask if she was alive or not, the words were suddenly stuck in his throat. A memory of his mother killed by Maijin Buu appeared in his mind's eye. Mirai's silence wasn't making him feel any better. He could handle his father being dead, even Gohan, they were fighters, but his mother...

A hand fell on his shoulder, jerking him out of dark thoughts. He looked up, seeing oddly familiar blue eyes and suddenly he felt a little better. Mirai graced him with a kind smile, "Chichi's still alive."

"Really?" Goten could hardly keep the relief out of his voice, his shoulders sagged and he felt his mouth pull into such a big smile it nearly hurt. "She still live on the mountain."

"As far as I know." Mirai answered sounding slightly unsure, Goten paused at the sudden unsureness in his friend's demeanor and Mirai explained, "I haven't been there in a while. Nearly seven years. I find it... a little awkward to face your mother ever since Gohan's death."

_Oh... _Goten thought dumbly, black eyes trained on the man in front of him. The next request he'd been playing with didn't seem appropriate anymore.

Luckily Mirai didn't have to be asked. The sadness that had seeped into his blue eyes disappeared in a flash and he gave Goten a reassuring smile. "You want to visit her?"

"Uh... well..." Goten couldn't help but laugh at the look Mirai was giving him. A confident smile, the same he always yielded to. "I would really appreciate it."

"Of course Goten." Mirai nodded, "There's nothing wrong with your request. When I came to your timeline it was my family who made me feel comfortable. Even if they weren't the same people I know here, they are my blood." tilting his head to the side, long lavender locks fell over Mirai's shoulder and some strands tumbled into his eyes.

The words worked magic on Goten. He smiled and diverted his eyes to his hands which quietly picked at the cloth of his pants.

_ They may be from a different timeline, but they are still the people I know and love. _He told himself, _They are my blood. _He looked up at Mirai, and saw the young man he had once been. The Trunks Goten grew up with and loved. More mature, older even, but still he had the same affect on the young demi-saiyan.

"Thank you," Goten said, and he meant it.

"Anything," Mirai answered, and Goten could hear the sincerity in his voice. "Now how about we go home. Tomorrow, I'll go with you to see Chichi."

xxxxxxx

When the returned to the remains of Capsule Corp, a grand meal awaited them. Pieces of Steak, bits of steamed vegetables, bowls of rice. Even Mirai seemed generally confused by the collection. Bulma merely beamed at them, "If I remember right two saiyans can work up quite a appetite training." Neither complained, they all sat down at the small pull out table and had what Bulma jokingly called, "A family dinner."

It took a couple minutes for actual conversation to come. Goten's face was full of food and both Mirai and Bulma seemed content in watching him eat and smiling. When he slowed down enough Bulma asked him questions about his timeline. How his father was doing, how Vegeta was doing, the exciting adventures of the past years, and Goten politely answered all that he could. Both Mirai and Bulma seemed more surprise that Krillin had married 18 and started a family then they had been about his announcement that the Bulma in his timeline had a second child. Gohan was married and had a daughter, he told the two, and Bulma nearly had tears in her eyes at the thought. Mirai stared down at his plate, a soft smile on his face. Goten could feel though, that all this talk of his world was bringing the mood to a quiet melancholy he didn't like. It felt wrong to talk about his world when the people around him were in turmoil.

Swallowing the last bit of his rice Goten kindly dodged another question about his world and changed the topic. "About your world," he started, watching Bulma's intelligent blue eyes stare at him, "I asked Mirai today about my mother. I was hoping tomorrow I could see her."

"Oh Chichi!" Bulma nearly squealed in delight, "Kami it has been years since I've seen her. She still lives on Mount Paozu you know, and that is so far away."

"Is she okay up there?"

_All by herself?_

"Trunks was there a couple years ago, and she seemed to be doing well, especially after he told her of his adventures in the past." Goten spared a look at Mirai at the mention and again he saw the older man's face flush a little as he plucked a steamed vegetable with his fork and popped it in his mouth. "But Chichi will be even happier once she sees you." Bulma continued, "Oh maybe I should come with."

"If you don't mind Goten." Mirai added quietly from his place at the table.

Goten smiled, "Why would I mind. The more the merrier." he urged happily not missing the sparkle in both Bulma and Mirai's eyes.

_They are still the same, _rang through his mind as they continued with dinner, _even in this crumbling world. They are my family. _

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__I know! I finally updated. Long story short I wrote this chapter last fall and somehow lost it! So I had to rewrite the entire thing all over again- which normally wouldn't be so bad but it put up a bit of a fight and I also had a lot going on this past year. So finally, here is the next chapter and already I'm working on the third so I don't keep people waiting again. Sorry for any editing and grammar mistakes. I'm still betaless. Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! :)_  



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